Little Dragon Girl
by ArixFrost
Summary: One day everything was business as usual for Avirelle, that is until the Straw Hats arrived. With a secret revealed, Avirelle and her new friends are bound for the one thing her heart truly desires, adventure.
1. Prologue

**EPILOGUE**

The room was dark the only light source was a small lamp placed on the upper corner of the desk. Outside the wind howled and beat angrily on the walls.

With a sigh the man placed his papers down on the desk and removed his glasses, rubbing his eyes wearily. With a head full of black hair and eyes still bright with curiosity the only sign of his true age were the lines that ran across his face.

A quiet rapping at the door caused him to quickly turn over the papers, hiding their contents from the intruder. "Yes?"

A maid timidly pokes her head in the door. "I'm sorry to bother you Professor, but you have visitors."

"Visitors?" He questions.

"Yes sir, they say they've travelled far to see you."

"Are you sure they aren't lost?"

"No sir, they've asked for you by name."

"Very well, seat them in the living room I will be down shortly to sort this out, it's obviously some sort of mix up."

"Yes sir." The maid leaves and closes the door quietly.

The Professor grumbles as he clears his papers away, locking them in their secret drawer and slipping the key into his pants pocket.

As he enters his living room he see's the three men sitting comfortably. The ring leader is obvious, he sits the most at ease and lazy smile playing on his lips, his blonde hair pushed to the side out of his icy eyes. On either side of him sitting still as statues are two men. All three are well dressed making the room look even more drab and bare than usual by comparison. Well dressed thugs, but thugs just the same, the Professors decides about the ringleader's choice of company.

The blond man stands gracefully and extends a hand to the Professor, "So nice to see you, Professor."

The Professor takes the mans hand, a little taken aback. "I'm sorry, are you quite sure you've got the right place? I haven't had visitors in a very long time, nor was I expecting any."

The blond man smiles easily, "I'm very sure we're in the right place. It's nice to finally put a face to the name and stories."

"Stories? Do I know you?"

The man gestures for the Professor to take the seat across from him. "We haven't officially met, no, but my father speaks highly of you."

"And who is your father?" The Professor inquires and he sinks obediently into the offered seat.

For the first time, the statues show signs of life, glaring at the Professor as if he had said something offensive. The one sitting to the left hands begins to twitch irritably.

The blond man waves a hand lazily and they still back into statues again. "How rude of me to assume you'd recognized me after all this time. It has been many years."

He stands and begins unbuttoning his shirt, revealing a fierce looking lions head baring its teeth inked in red across his chest.

The Professor jolts, "Surely you're not? This cannot be, can it? The Lion's son?"

The blond man chuckles as he takes his seat again, "It seems the cub has grown up, hey?" He jokes working at his buttons.

"Still, I can't imagine what would bring you here to me? Is your father well?"

"The Lion is fine. He's getting ready for retirement you know? And I'm getting ready to take over the family business as it were."

"Retire? I can't see The Lion ever doing that."

The man shrugs, "Being the top smuggler and merchant on the black market isn't easy, even for a younger man. It gets more brutal and ruthless every day. My father is a smart man he see's the wisdom in handing over the reigns."

"Well none of us are getting any younger that's true."

The blond man leans forward, "As for why we're here, the old Lion thinks as he gets ready to step down that it is important to honour those who proved to be uh, helpful to him over the years."

The Professor nods along, but averts his eyes at the last comment.

"He sent me with this," The man pulls out a small ring box out of his jacket pocket and offers it to the Professor.

Automatically the Professor accepts the offering and opens the lid with a gasp. Inside snuggled in velvet is a handsome golden ring with a red jewel in the centre. The jewel manages to catch the light even in the dull sitting room.

"I couldn't...really I couldn't. This is far too much."

"You must. The old man insists."

"Well...thank you very much, tell him how pleased I am to accept such a generous offer." The Professor makes a move to close the box and pocket the ring, secretly puzzling out where in his yard he can bury the hateful reminder of his wicked past.

"Wait." The blond man commands.

The Professor pauses, giving him a questioning look.

"Put it on."

"Excuse me?"

In a tone that brooks no argument, "You have to put it on. The old man insists that I stay until I see you wear his present, and I do hate to lie to him."

The Professor looks down at the ring, trying to rearrange his face to hide the repulsion at the thought of putting such a thing on his finger.

The two statues come to life again, both stirring restlessly as if hoping he will resist and give them an excuse to end this boring house call with some fun.

"Put it on, now." The man is no longer smiling and his icy eyes are burning coldly.

Hastily, the Professor shoves the ring onto his right finger.

The mans expression instantly brightens. "Perfect, the old man would have been very pleased."

'Would?"

"Oh yes. Before I killed him to take his crown and throne that is. Now show me where you are hiding them Professor."

The Professor jumps to his feet, the panic clear on his face. Too late he has discovered the danger that he let into his house. His head swivels left and right as he desperately tries to find an escape.

"Tut, tut. Well please remember that I did ask you to help me willingly first." His eyes flash red before he commands, "Show me where you're little experiments are, now."

The expression on the Professors face goes blank, his eyes dull as his jaw goes slack. Without a word or a struggle he rises and leads the strangers towards his study. The blond man follows close behind, his eyes taking in every movement as the Professor removes the key from his pocket and unlocks the secret drawer with his jealously guarded papers inside. Gathering them he turns and deposits them into the mans waiting hands.

The man greedily reads the papers, his expression becoming more and more joyful. He discards some but keeps others, letting the rejects flutter to the floor. Soon he has only 5 sheets in his hand. After a half hour of deliberation and going back and forth between them he settles on one. Turning it around to show the others in the room, he shows them his final candidate. In the top left corner of the sheet a picture of a little girl is clipped. The girl has curly pink hair and startling red eyes and is wearing a wide smile. "Her" he says with chilling finality.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

She stood with her back pressed to the building. Her eyes were shut and she was focusing on the warmth of the sun pressing in on her even through the material of her hooded cloak. She listened to the noise of a busy shopping day in getting ready to begin. There was the pounding of feet, the voices of the shop keepers gossiping back and forth, some voices haggling with some early customers, and the laughter of children ringing out. There was even the squawking of the seabirds, as if they too wanted to be heard in the general din of the market. Taking a deep breath she tasted the air around her, clean as always, but hints of the dust kicked up by travelling feet, and the salty bite of the near by ocean. She smiled softly to herself, so much noise was a good thing, that meant there were people around with money to spend. Opening her eyes she looked over to her right towards the piers. There seemed to be an unusual amount of big flashy ships docked there. Pirates probably, she decided with a rush of excitement. They're very likely looking to restock on supplies before heading back out to their lives full of adventure. The bar really is in the perfect location catching the foot traffic before they enter the market, and they were the last stop on the way back to the piers and ships. The perfect place to catch those pirates looking to get a drink before braving a busy market, and to entice those on their way back to the boats, looking to get a few drinks before leaving. The ones looking for a few before hitting the open seas were the ones most drawn to her fathers door.

As she mused she let her eyes run up and down the many ships until they rested on one particularly peculiar one. Was that a giant rams head at the front of the ship? And on the sail a skull and cross bones in what looks to be a straw hat? As she was inspecting the strange boat, five figures disembarked from it. Even from where she stood she could hear the uproarious laughter.

"Avirelle, what are you doing?"

She turned to the door to see her father standing there with a glass and towel in hand.

She smiled for him, "It seems to be a great day for business for all of us." She gestures toward the piers, "Very rarely do we get so many travellers all at once."

Her father looks in the direction she indicated. "Good and bad."

"How can it be both?"

He shakes his head, "Pirates are curious, they stick their noses were they don't belong, and where they certainly aren't welcome. I don't feel safe with them so close to you."

Avirelle rolls her eyes knowing the response is hidden by her hood. "Barely anyone even notices me Father, you worry too much."

His expression softens as he turns towards his only child, "It's what parents do, what? Did you think this grey hair was a fashion statement?"

He isn't a tall man, but built sturdy and strong. His untidy hair still manages to look boyish, despite being all grey. His face is kind with grey eyes lined from years of easy smiling and hard work. She reaches up to pat a prickly cheek, he always seems to be sporting a five o'clock shadow. "We'll be safe as always, Dad."

He leans his face into her hand for a moment before handing her the glass and cloth, "Get inside child, there's lots of work to be done and we're burning daylight."

She turns to obey but the sound of approaching feet crunching on the gravel causes her to look over her shoulder. Its the five pirates from the funny ship about to pass by the bar.

A slim girl with short fiery orange hair is going over sheets of paper, "We have to get this done as quickly as possible, that's why I've split what has to be done into three groups. We'll meet back at the Going Merry in one hour got it?" She bosses as she hands out the sheets to her friends.

"Nami darling, do you want me to come with you?" A tall blond boy with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth coos.

"No, you go with Zoro or Luffy, god knows they'll get lost if they pair up together."

"Uh, they're already gone." A boy with frizzy black hair and a funny long nose points out.

"What?! Zoro? Luffy? DAMN IT. Never mind." She huffs, "you two go together, maybe they won't get lost this time, it doesn't seem to be a very big place." She stomps off growling to herself.

The long nosed boy sighs, "Yeah right."

Avirelle jumps as she feels her fathers hand pushing her firmly all the way in the door. "Get a move on, Avi."

"Right, sorry Dad."

In what seems like no time at all, Avirelle forgets about the bustling of the market. Inside the bar all is quiet and calm because prime hours are far from starting. They wont happen til after I've gone home, Avirelle thinks to herself. He doesn't really need me here, he just hates to leave me home alone all day long, she glances at her father, sitting in his office with the door wide open while pouring over ledgers with a calculator. The hooded cloak allows me to come out in public with him in the daylight, keeping me safe from the worlds prying and judgmental eyes. I really am grateful for it. I just wish it wasn't so cramped under here. She shifts uncomfortably. "Father? I need a break."

"Sure thing honey."

She places the glass back in its proper place and discards the towel before heading for the ladies room. As soon as she is inside she crosses the clean tile to the full length mirror. Listening to the fans calm whirring she leans in inspecting herself in the reflection. A short girl, no more than 5'2, dressed in a red corset that ties at the front paired with a long a line style skirt also red in colour. Although the clothes aren't revealing they don't do much to hide the soft curves of her hips or swell of her breasts. Small hands ending in longish red nails reach up for the hood, cover the top portion of her face. The pink lips curve in a smile, the cloak is also red, long enough to cover her hair back and shoulders completely. The hands stop at theclasp at her throat. Squeezing her eyes shut she undoes it, listening as it falls gently to the floor in a whisper of fabric. She whispers to herself, "I have long dark black hair, and beautiful chocolate eyes." Upon opening her eyes, the girl in the mirror reveals the truth. Long curly hair reaches to her waist, a soft pink in colour. On either side of her head peeking out from beneath the curls are two small, but undeniably there, upward pointing red horns. The bow she tied hopefully in her hair this morning doing nothing to distract from them. Under the pink straight cut bangs, two wide and round red eyes peer out, looking over everything critically. She sighs, "Oh well, maybe someday. Maybe I'll even get a tan too," she adds looking at cream white skin. With a flutter she stretches her wings and watches in the mirror as they unfurl from her back. She breathes a sigh of relief and beats the air around her. She watches the light dance on the scales, and enjoys the feeling their strength. Glancing back in the mirror she smiles a big toothy grin, revealing her pointed incisors. "Then again, that's not so bad now either is it?" She whispers.

A jingling of a bell signals a customer entering. Avirelle sighs. Just when I was getting comfortable too. She reaches for her cloak reluctantly til the voice makes her pause.

"Hello? Hello? Can you help us?"

The red headed pirate girl? With a deft movement Avirelle has her cloak securely in place and is pushing her way back into the bar.

Nami stands there with the two boys from before, all wearing a sheepish expressions on their faces. Avirelle's father beat her to the punch however, he's no ones fool, he clearly remembers these are the pirates from earlier.

"Hi, are you the owner?" Nami asks politely.

"It just so happens that I am, what can I do for you folks today?"

"I'm really sorry to bother you, but our friends have gone missing, we came here looking for help."

"Your friends are missing? That's terrible, I wish I could do something to help you. But it's just me and my daughter here, and she can't serve alcohol to the guests yet. I can hardly leave her here all alone and run around the island looking for missing pirates. Have you tried asking the other shop keepers?"

"We have, they pointed us all here. We've had a lot of them tell us they saw our friends going toward the wooded area. They also said the best and safest entrance is right in your yard. We aren't here to ask you to leave your business and help us search, we just need permission to enter through there."

"And maybe you can point out which house is yours?" The long nosed boy interjected.

"Usopp!" Nami turned on him, "I told you to let me handle this! We're pirates he isn't going to tell us how to get to his empty house!"

Avirelle steps around her father to stand at his side, "The forest? You're sure?"

"That 's what we were told."

"That's really bad, it's really dangerous in there! There's all sorts of creatures that lurk in there, and its so easy to get lost even if you have the best navigational skills." Avirelle turns to her father, "We really are the only ones who can help them, you know that. You should let me go and find them. That way the pirates can stay here with you, and they wont risk getting lost or having to deal with any of the creatures."

"If it's dangerous someone should go with you." The blond boy points out.

Avirelle's father watches the boys eyes roam up and down her hooded form when she turns her head to look up longingly at him. "No one knows the forest like you do, daughter." He admits grudgingly.

"I've been to the very deepest parts." She boasts happily. "I can go alone and get them back here safe and sound. We can't leave them in there to starve or something worse."

"Fine fine, you're right. Go help the pirates." He sighs.

Avirelle gives a joyful hop and happily claps her hands before turning back to Nami, "What are their names?"

"Zoro and Luffy." She then points to boy on either side, "This is Usopp, and this is Sanji. And I'm Nami."

Avirelle extends one of her small hands to Nami shyly, "You don't need to worry, I've spent lots of time in the forest. I'll have them back here in no time and you can give them a wicked scolding for getting lost."

Nami takes her hand, "I really do appreciate this, god knows I'd have had my hands full trying to drag this one through the forest." She nods her head at Usopp, whose knees have been knocking together ever since the first mention of creatures in the forest.

"Are you sure you don't need some back up, dear one?" Sanji grasps her other hand and caresses it. "I promise you'd be very safe with me."

With a lighting fast motion, Nami takes a closed fists and bats him behind his head, causing him to drop her hand and clutch his head while cursing. "No, you'll stay here with me so I can make sure you aren't harassing the nice girl who is offering to find those boneheads, you jack ass."

Avirelle steps around the bickering pirates towards the door "I'll be back before you know it with your friends!" She promises.

"Be careful Avirelle!" Her dad warns.

With a lighthearted giggle, she pushes out the door and unknowingly takes her first steps on her very own grand adventure.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The two men outside the bar were watching the doors from afar like they had been for the last few days. Both were dressed in dark jeans and sneakers looking to be expensively made, and had matching necklaces with a single red jewel on them. One wore a light coloured hoodie with the hood up, there was just a hint of the red hair peeking out from beneath. His rust coloured eyes were heavy with boredom as he absently traced pictures in the dust. His partner was shockingly pale, made even more noticeable by the long sleeved black v-necked shirt he wore. His cold silver eyes were glued to the bar intently, standing so still that the only movement was the wind gently waving his silver tousled hair. "Fin, why do we have to sit here all day? These are the most boring and predictable people ever." The red head complained almost pouting. Fin, the pale one, ignored him as if he hadn't spoken, his eyes never wavering from the target. "Come on man, let's just go. We know the old guy walks her home the same time every day. We'll just go enjoy ourselves in the market til that time comes, and show up and snatch her today as planned. The boss will be happy, and I can maybe talk to a few of the local cuties."

"That's not any excuse to get lazy, Fox." Fin scolds, his annoyance clear in his voice. "We will bring her back today as planned and we will be careful and meticulous as always."

"This is soo boring!" Fox whines.

"Shh!" Fin holds up a finger cutting him off from further complaints. "Somethings happening."

Both pairs watched now as the hooded girl flew out of the bar door. Barely pausing to look around she takes off excitedly.

Fin growled in dismay as Fox pumps a fist and hisses, "Yes! Finally something to do!" He turns to his pale pal, "We've gotta hurry if we want to follow her."

"How do we know this isn't a trap to lure us out of hiding? It could be anyone under that hood."

"Hey, I told you I'd watch the place while you gathered intel and checked on the ship didn't I? No one else went in there." Fox lied with ease, the truth was he nodded off shortly after Fin left. The sun was so warm and the bar was so boring, besides no one ever went in there before what could possibly have changed? "It's her, it has to be."

Fin deliberated for a moment, eyes swerving between the bar and the path the girl ran down. "Fine. Hurry up she's getting away."

Inside the depths of the forest two figures wander aimlessly.

"Zoro, are we lost?" A boy with a straw hat and a scar under one eye asks.

The tall man with green hair carrying three swords answers gruffly, "No."

"Are you sure? Cause I think we are."

"Will you shut up? I know exactly where I am."

"Are we close to food? I'm so hungry." The boy clutches his growling stomach pitifully.

"Uh, sure we are." Zoro says, "Just shut up already Luffy, I need to concentrate!"

Luffy sniffs the air hopefully, "Really? I don't smell anything tasty."

Zoro chooses not to answer, and instead just grumbles to himself as he marches determinedly deeper into the forest unaware of the glowing yellow eyes stalking him from the shadows.

Avirelle reaches her home, with a flying leap she hops the fence, not bothering to unlatch it properly in her excitement. She runs to the forest entrance but a strange feeling pulls her up short. She glances over her shoulders and waits for a moment, listening hard. Nothing there? I must just be paranoid, she chuckles nervously. I usually come here to be all alone, I'm not used to the thought of there being someone in my forest, let alone going in there to seek them out. Giving herself a good shake, she enters.

Fin and Fox watch her as she disappears into the thick and very wild looking forest. A far as the eye can see winding gnarled trees grow close together. Wicked looking thorn bushes all over, so many green things that all look exactly the same at first glance, and no visible path to follow. "We're gonna have to stick close to her." Fox says.

"No, I've talked to the locals about this place. This is pretty much the only clear entry and exit for this forest. We'll wait for her to come back out. It's too easy for her to shake us and leave us lost in there. Or if we cross one of the creatures paths and we're forced to fight we'll give ourselves away and she'll ditch us for sure."

"Creatures? What, rabid squirrels or something?"

"Man eating lynxes seem to be a big fear of the locals. Not to mention the hundred other things that place is crawling with."

Zoro and Luffy are wandering further than ever into the woods, but now Zoro has a big tawny coloured cat with dangerous looking claws and fangs over one shoulder. "Heh, just our luck to fix this lynx hey Luffy? I bet Sanji can make something really cool with this, I've never seen one this big."

Luffy dances around him happily chanting, "Meat meat meat meat!"Until the sound of powerful wings beating in the sky fills the air. Both stop in their tracks and look up towards to sky, unable to see much around the ceiling of greenery created by the clumped trees. A rustling near by causes them to look the tree a few feet to the left. Deftly laying down his catch, Zoro stealthily creeps towards that tree, sword drawn. "Let's see what else we can bag." But before he can raise his weapon, a girl in a red hooded cloak steps quickly from behind the truck, one hand playing with the clasp.

"Uhm, hello?" She says softly.

"GHOST!" Both boys shout, Zoro scrambling backwards into Luffy who latches on and clings to him.

"No! No, no no. I'm not a ghost, here look." She holds one of her small red nailed hands out towards them.

Bravely, Luffy reaches out and grabs it while Zoro eyes it suspiciously, as if it might jump out and bite him.

"Oi! She's real."

The doll like pink lips turn up in a gentle smile. "I'm sorry to startle you, my name is Avirelle. Are you guys lost?"

"No." Zoro says flatly.

Grinning widely Luffy introduces himself and Zoro. "Avirelle is an awful long name, can I call you Elle?"

"Oh! Uhm, I-I suppose." She stutters in embarrassment.

"What? Haven't you ever had a nickname before?" Luffy teases her.

"My dad calls me Avi sometimes. So not really, no. But I like Elle."

"Okay then Elle," Zoro cuts in, "What are you doing out here? What's with the cloak?"

"The hood and cloak? Oh, I uh, have a condition." She evades. "And I'm here because your captain sent me to come find you."

"Our what?" Zoro asks suspiciously.

"Your captain? Captain Nami?"

"Did she tell you she was our captain?" He asks incredulously, while Luffy slaps a hand over his mouth.

"Well...no. I just assumed she was. She seems very...authoritative."

Zoro and Luffy burst into laugh as if they had just heard the greatest joke in the world. "Captain Nami!" They take turns squawking at each other when one seems in danger of calming down.

After five minutes of that, Avirelle crosses her arms with a huff. "If she isn't the captain then who is?"

Zoro wipes at his eyes before throwing her a mischievous smirk and puffing out his chest. "Guess."

"Certainly not that slimy blond Sanji?" Avirelle gasps in horror, eyes widening.

"What?! You think that idiot is more likely to be captain than me?" Zoro exclaims.

"He's not exactly lost in the woods now is he?" Avirelle asks pointedly.

"Yeah, but I am." Luffy points out.

"Yes...that's why I'm here." Avirelle replies in confusion.

"No, I mean I AM the captain, and I'm lost in the woods with Zoro."

"What? You? How?" Avirelle gasps in disbelief.

"We're not lost!" Zoro cuts across her questions with a growl.

She looks him up and down. "Really?" Her voice dripping with doubt. "Which way do we go from here to get out then?"

Zoro spins around in a circle stopping in a random direction. "This way." He says confidently.

Avirelle reaches out and grabs his arm before he can walk away. "That's the swamp Zoro! This way." She pulls him the complete opposite direction grabbing Luffy's arm too as she passes by.

After leading them for a bit, Luffy comes up beside her and asks, "Hey Elle? You said that get up was for a condition, are you sick?"

"Not exactly."

"But it's not like it's cold outside and you need to bundle up."

"I have...deformities."

"Eh? So are you really ugly or something?"

"Luffy!" Zoro calls out, shocked.

Avirelle laughs, and waves off his concern. "That depends on your taste I guess. Are you really the captain?"

"Yup!" He grins at her, folding his arms behind his head comfortably while they walk. "Just like I always wanted. I'm going to find the One Piece and be king of the pirates."

"One Piece? King of the pirates?"

"Yeah, haven't you ever heard of that before?"

"No, my dad wants to keep me away from stuff like that as much as he can."

"How old are you Elle? It's hard to tell under that hood." Zoro asks.

"I'm 17. Tell me all about this king of the pirates business." She says excitedly. "Please? I want to know all about it."

They pass the rest of the journey back telling her all about Gol. D. Roger and his awesome treasure hidden with the promise of adventure to anyone brave or foolish enough to try and seek it out. They take turns telling her about their own adventures along the way, she learns about Zoro's dream to be the greatest swords man, and about the others dreams as well. She signs with envy, "It all sounds so amazing. Brave friends banding together to travel all over in search of their hearts desire."

"Do you have any dreams like that?" Luffy stops and turns to her.

"I want to travel all over the world! I want to see everything this world has to offer!"

Luffy considers for a moment before replying, "I'm sure you can do it Elle, don't give up."

She smiles sadly, "I don't think so. Who would help my dad with the bar?"

"Bar?" Zoro perks up. "Is that where we're headed?"

"Yes, the rest of your crew are waiting there for you."

"Is there sake?

"It's a bar, of course there is."

"And meat?" Luffy asks hopefully.

"I'm sure we can find something for our new friends." Avirelle laughs.

"Yay! Lets hurry hurry hurry!" Luffy grabs her hand and takes off towards the brightening exit. Avirelle laughs even more, letting herself be dragged as she listens to Zoro cursing from behind at them for leaving him.

Once they are free, she's still laughing breathlessly, and leads them towards the closed and locked fence. That strange feeling comes over her again, shivers dancing up and down her spine in warning. She freezes and feels the boys stop behind her in confusion.

"Elle?" Luffy pokes her shoulder, "We gotta go. There's meat waiting to be eaten by me."

"Someones there." She replies in a low voice her eyes sweeping the area.

A glee filled chuckle draws her eyes to the shadow, a man in a hoodie emerges slinking towards them lazily. "Very good, girl. Now let's see how smart you really are, hm? Come with me now without a fuss and we'll leave your strange looking friends in peace."

Avirelle takes a step back, "Who are you?" She demands.

"I said, come here." The man growls before pouncing towards her. She stumbles back again, her hands raising outwards as if that could protect her from this strangers onslaught. A rush from behind causes her to open her eyes, revealing that Luffy and Zoro have jumped in front of her. Zoro stands between Luffy and the man in the hoodie, his sword pointed. "What the hell is going on here?" He shouts.

The man stops short, the dangerous blade pointed at his chest. He considers it before replying. "Just hand her over. I'm not here for you."

Zoro doesn't budge or flinch.

Worriedly looking and the battle brewing between the two, Avirelle tries to step forward and surrender. Luffy's arm shoots out, blocking her path. She puts a hand on it and leans forward, "Please let me go. He won't hurt you two if you do. Just please run to the bar and tell my dad what happened."

"We're going to go to the bar together when Zoro's done with this guy." Luffy replies calmly. He looks over his shoulder at her and smiles. "We won't leave you behind, Elle."

Another strange feeling of warning comes over her again, nagging her to look to the left. A tall pale man is rushing silently towards Luffy, his outstretched hand holding a taser at the ready. Luffy hasn't noticed the quickly approaching threat.

With surprising strength, she pushes Luffy down and leaps over him, meeting the attackers blow. She feels the cool taser touch her skin an instant before an awful burning takes over her body. It shocks her muscles rigid, yet they still twitch and dance with the electricity flowing over her skin. Her legs give and she crumbles to the ground, the scream she was keeping tightly locked behind her lips escaping. Laying on the ground, she pants. Despite her best effort she can't get control over her body again, it lays there and jumps against her will painfully with the after shock of the brutal attack. She feels her mind swimming in and out of focus.

Focus comes back with a harsh slap of reality. She's being crushed against her attackers body facing up right, one of his muscled arms holding her in place, the other has a knife pointed towards her.

"Let her go!" Luffy demands.

"Do you even know what it is you're protecting?"

"She's Elle! She's our friend, put her down!"

"Let me show you who you friend really is then." The arms shifts and a hand reaches for her clasp.

"No, please, don't." She struggles weakly, her voice faint.

She feels her protection slip away, feeling the cool evening air against her exposed her and skin. She lets her head hang heavy with shame, she can't bare to see Luffy or Zoro's reaction to her secret. To see their expressions twist with shock and disgust after hearing Luffy call her a friend so sweetly would be too much for her to take. Hot tears pour down her cheeks freely.

"Look at this monster." Her captors hand grabs her jaw forcing her head up. She keeps her eyes screwed tightly shut as he forces her mouth to open, exposing her fangs. She can taste her own tears. "She was probably going to bring you to her lair where she could feast on your flesh and bones. We did you a favour."

With a surge, she feels a hot rage flowing in her veins. Hurt them? She would never! A snarl erupts from deep in her chest as her struggling strengthens.

"See? Look how dangerous she is."

With a powerful burst, her wings unfurl sending her unsuspecting captor flying back. The acrid taste of smoke brews at the back of her throat, her red eyes glitter with anger, as she whirls around to face him. He has gotten to his feet and is coming at her full force, the knife raised. Folding the wings over herself, she blocks his attack, feeling as the knife bounces harmlessly off her scales. With a fluid movement, she opens her wings and her arms shoots out, her claws slashing at the hand holding the weapon. She feels them connect to his wrist, hears the tearing of skin, and smells as his blood pours from the wound. With a curse he drops the knife and grabs at his injured wrist. Reaching out with a foot and kicking back, she gets the knife safely out of his reach. Crouching she lets out a fierce roar, loud enough that she feels the loose rocks around her feet dance, but she is past caring.

A slash from behind signals that Zoro has also finished his face off victoriously. With a grim satisfaction she watches as her attacker sinks to his knees, bloody arm still clenched tightly in an attempt to staunch the flow of blood. "It seems we've under estimated you, little dragon girl. You've proved that you were indeed the perfect candidate. Don't worry we'll be back for you soon." He turns from her and shouts, "FOX! RETREAT." He turns his hand over to reveal a small green pellet, "We won't make the same mistake again." He promises before he crushes it tightly in his fist and a grey thick smoke cloud appears with a poof. Behind her she hears another one, followed by Zoro curses. Coughing and trying to use an arm to shield her eyes, Avirelle is forced to back away into fresh air.

"Elle!" Luffy calls out to her. She turns to the sound of his voice, she doesn't need to look to know that the attackers have used their diversions to escape. Both Zoro and Luffy are rushing towards her. With a shock she realizes that they kept their promise to not leave her behind. A smile briefly crosses her lips. But then the reality comes flooding in, in a brutal breath taking wave. She stands, wings and horns fully exposed in the day's fading light. Panic balloons in her chest and she feels the pressure of a million judging eyes pressing down on her skin, her chest struggling to expand to take air into her lungs. Luffy and Zoro blur, a buzzing drowns out their voices, and then she falls.


End file.
